Hot comic Ben Gleib performs at Jr.'s this weekend

SEE ITBen Gleib will perform Friday and Saturday at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. at Jr.'s Last Laugh, 1402 State St. Tickets are $20. Call 461-0911 or visit www.jrslastlaugh.com.

Ben Gleib's Thanksgiving will beat yours. It's certainly more action-packed. The comedian and frequent correspondent on "Chelsea Lately" will put in a full day before he arrives in Erie to headline at Jr.'s Last Laugh on Friday and Saturday.

"I have a multitiered day," Gleib said, not the least glibly. "I'm going to a friend's brunch. Then, I'm serving meals to the homeless at the Laugh Factory. Then I'm having the proper (Thanksgiving) with the whole family in Palos Verdes. Then I'll be a straggler at Dane Cook's house. Then, I'm flying to Erie."

Party at Cook's house? He'll be flying before he flies; the two are longtime friends.

"I will be in no shape to get on a plane, and I should not be flying, but I will knock myself out" to get here, Gleib said.

That's good news for comedy fans. Gleib is a smart, worldly comedian whom Esquire included in its 2007 article on "six comedians who could be comedy's next big thing" (along with Aziz Ansari and Patton Oswalt). Part of his act involves the fact he's still single and his theories on why.

"It's a testament to how many amazing women there are," Gleib explained. "They're all different. They're all special, unique creatures -- like snowflakes.

"If they were all the same, it'd be easy to choose, but they're like snowflakes. No two snowflakes are the same, and who ever had fun playing with just one snowflake?"

Flaky as that logic may sound, Gleib does have two solid excuses for why he flies solo.

"I work a ton. Also, I think I'm more picky than is necessary."

He's not picky about work assignments; Gleib has seized every opportunity that's come his way. On Monday, he made his debut as a news correspondent on "The Arsenio Hall Show," reporting on the launch of Xbox One. He talked to customers in a long line, and also visited Microsoft's West Coast launch party.

"I'm so stupid, because I didn't go back inside the party, after we did the green carpet," Gleib said. "My buddy did, and he got one."

Gleib also hosts a weekly podcast, "Last Week On Earth," which isn't a rant about impending apocalypse. He reads up on everything that happened last week, then comments on it -- occasionally with guests.

"I'm obsessed with the news; I spend time watching it and reading it and sometimes I'm putting it to good use," Gleib said. "I get to appear on CNN and NPR sometimes, few and far between.

"I see politics like it's a reality show, but it's a reality show with consequences," he added. "It's the same vapid idiots who are doing confessions on the Kardashian show, except they have bombs and guns, and get to rule the world."

He spends 10 to 20 hours on research for each podcast, but it's worth it when he lands cool guests like Bryan Cranston.

"'Breaking Bad' is my favorite TV show ever, and he was just hilarious and so insightful about the business. And he was the nicest guy."

So nice, in fact, Cranston talked his former "Breaking Bad" cast mate Bob Odenkirk into appearing on "Last Week On Earth."

"(Cranston) called me over in front of Chelsea and says, 'Bob will be at your apartment at 7 p.m.' So, he made me look good in front of Chelsea, as well."

Gleib will return as a round-table guest on "Chelsea Lately" on Wednesday.

SEE ITBen Gleib will perform Friday and Saturday at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. at Jr.'s Last Laugh, 1402 State St. Tickets are $20. Call 461-0911 or visit www.jrslastlaugh.com.